Joker?
by dakotabaker72
Summary: Dakota goes to a school for monster tamer's, the down side is he has to put up with homework and people that don't understand him. Can both his sister's and acquaintances he has yet to meet help him with the bubble he put between him and everybody at school. this story has strictly o.c's and will not fall into any plot related to the show. Thank you Forever100 for help/edits :AU
1. Chapter 1

Joker?

Monster and Tamer

My school life couldn't get any worse? Being human in a world where half the races are humans and the other race or races are monsters; by the way my names Dakota Baker. My family is mix of monsters and humans. I am a human, my Mom's an Elemental and my Dad's a human. I picked up mostly from my Dad's side of the family seems how I'm scrawny and my hair is dark brown, my eyes are dark brown, I have pale skin, I'm 5 ft.5. For a fourteen year old teen I am actually pretty lonely; well mostly at school, most of the other people in my classes just stay away from me due to the fact that I contain one characteristic from my Mom's side of the family. I am able to cast magic. Most humans are aren't able to cast magic so they think that the few who can cast magic or are shape shifters, halfa, demigods, Ljosalfar, Svartalfar, djinn, jokers (not the ones from batman); but spirits of gangsters or tricksters that are threatening, and etc. then there are my sisters one who happen to be a human who can cast magic like me and the other an adopted high elf. We are the outcast. But most of the races absolutely despise jokers because of what they do, mostly being thieves and all. But there are a few who actually go to my school. I see we are getting slightly off topic here.

(Dakota's point of view dream state)

_It's always the same dream, always complete black nothingness. Then the black nothingness would shift to Dad's funeral replaying over and over again to the point of getting annoyingly sad. Seeing as I would remember every family member and friends of our family and some of Dad's coworkers were there to morn him. I truly do miss him. Dad lay in the open coffin eyes closed in a dark blue tux, his favorite color, 6 ft. 3, brown hair. I sat there next to my father's casket crying in silence with Tetra and Mom. Dad was by far the best father and friend anyone could ever wish for. His name was Jason._

_A couple of Dad's friends and coworkers came and paid him their respect. I cannot thank them enough for that. Things were going on like usual in these dreams I keep having of my father's funeral. I desperately want them to stop, to have a normal random dream for once. In the last four years I've been practically miserable whenever I wake up; too focused on the dream to even pay attention in class that. I'm surprised I graduated middle school. Back to the current dream, it would usually end with the last words that everybody would say to everyone including Dad. I was too depressed to say anything up at the podium at the funeral home that night so I sat and watched with Mom and Tetra as everybody else gave their speeches. This went for two maybe three hours before Ryan Blake, Dad's best friend and part of our family and coworker walked up to the podium._

_"We are here today on the behalf of Jason baker. "Ryan began. "He was a good coworker, college and loving friend of mine and a few others at I.C.K institute. I and others during lunch would talk about happenings of daily life whether it is work or kids we'd all ways have something to talk about. I remember this one time we came to lunch one day and he had the happiest face a man like him could ever make. I admit he was one of the happiest men in the world that day because that was when Dakota was born on the exact day and month Tetra was. He was extremely happy because he only had to memorize three birthdays. His, Jenna's and seems how that Dakota's and Tetra's are on the same day just that they're both a year apart. Zack, Dan, and I were just absolutely happy for him. There's this other time that Dakota managed to teach himself how to cast a fireball spell except when he did that he put too much stress on his mind that almost put him in a 603 year coma that was the worst seventeen hours in my life. However there was the bright side it didn't happen and look who's standing here awake today. You do remember accidentally lighting your dads pants on fire right because if you don't all of us were there. You should have seen how fast your mother was trying to get you to a hospital; it only took her three minutes. Yes your mother kept track of how long it took the both of you to get there with a teleport spell that she summoned. In the meantime Zack and I were trying to hold your dad still so he wouldn't cause other fires in the house while Dan ran and got the hose."_

_I laughed as well as everybody else at the memories I created back then. Those were some of the best and worst bonding times with my family. But when I stopped laughing I noticed I was in the black nothingness again. I looked around wondering why I didn't see a white light slowly fading in like I usually do. I would usually wake up when that happened. But it never came; instead I could hear quite sobbing coming from somewhere deeper in the void. I tried to follow the sobbing trying to see what the matter was; then they started to scream like they just were hit with a baseball bat and when I got closer I started to really hear someone getting hit with a bat and grunting coming from the victim; but the bright light now decided it was time for me to wake up._

(Dakota's point of view reality)

I broke out in a cold sweat with a minor headache. I put the palm of my hand to my forehead to try and calm my nerves from that not so same dream that I had.

I looked to my alarm clock on the nightstand to left side of my bed and it read 7:00 A.M; "_Great another miserable day at the school of hell_" I thought. "_I have half an hour to get ready before me and Tetra and Iris have to leave for school"._

"Are you all right"? Tetra asked in a worried tone in her voice. "Ya I just had another nightmare." I said in a somewhat tired tone.

I got dressed in a dark blue hoodie and pair of tan cargo pants with black and white skate shoes. Since Mom, Tetra, Iris, and I live in a two bedroom house. Iris, Tetra, and I have to share a room but that's not so bad. Tetra being fifteen years old happens to be a tomboy. She has an athletic build that actually show off quite a bit of the curves she developed since she hit puberty. She's actually a little shorter than me being 5 ft. 1, neck length jet black hair, but she has glowing light blue eyes.

Unlike most high elf's that have a culture where all of them think they are superior to other races; Iris was abandoned at the age of twelve by her abusive uncle. She actually isn't snobby like most of them; but instead very timid, she has blond hair that reaches to her lower back, glowing green eye's, has an hourglass figure, and she is 5 ft. 11. Iris doesn't act like a high elf at all considering that they have a tendency get up on time, and be control freaks, and she has a tendency to shy away from anyone at school besides me and Tetra. Instead she sleeps in on the weekends and tries to on school days; so that leaves me and Tetra to try and wake her up.

Like me Tetra is also awake wearing black hooded jacket, and one of my pairs of black cargo pants, along with the same skate shoes I have.

(Tetra's point of view)

Dakota was in the kitchen getting something to eat leaving me to wake up Iris. _'Thanks Dakota leave me to wake the sleep obsessed elf_' I growled in my thoughts. "Iris it's time to wake up."

The sixteen year old elf pulled the blanket over her head and rolled onto her side with her back facing me. "Iris I know Mondays suck for anybody but this is a bit much; don't you think?"

Iris hates Mondays then again who doesn't? I was about to yell out a storm when I remembered what today meant for the entire student body. "Iris if you don't get up you'll miss your chance at permanently getting assigned your first Partner". At this Iris got up and out of bed to go get dressed without realizing she didn't wear a top the previous night. "How many times have we told you not to sleep without a top on"?! I exclaimed. "Oh never mind just get dressed" I muttered to myself and with that I left the bed room.

"When will that elf ever realize that the world doesn't revolve entirely around sleep" I muttered to myself as I approached Dakota who was in the middle of making toast for the three of us?

(Tetra's point of view intro on man and monster equality)

300 years ago man and monster were at war with each other; nobody new why or how it was started but one thing is for sure both sides suffered tragic losses. Both sides had family's ruined, betrayals, assassinations attempts on leaders. When the war reached its one hundredth and fifty sixth year; both the leaders have suffered many losses and decided on a temporary truce to end the war and think of each being as equal. After a few decades both leaders began to notice man and monsters started having families with one another. They both realized that this was the right decision and made the truce final. From then on both man and monster had a peaceful life.

But then there were racist groups against certain species of monsters. Even though we helped solve racism of most of its problems there are other races that are still frowned upon till this day. One of the most frowned upon races were the jokers they are the spirits of deceased thieves, muggers, tricksters, etc. Though not all of them are bad; just some are.

(Tetra's point of view Normal)

I silently approached behind Dakota and put my hand on his right shoulder making him jump in surprise.

"God dang it"! Dakota almost yelled out loud. I just stood there snickering while Dakota finished making toast for everyone. "Would you stop doing that while I'm using a knife I could somehow injure one of us" Dakota complained. Iris finally came out of our room (in which the narrator forgot to explain the layout of the house). (Right sorry well any way you know there house has only two bedrooms; well I forgot to mention that one is upstairs and one is downstairs. Tetra, Iris, and Dakota's room is upstairs along with the upstairs bathroom and living room. The downstairs consisted of Jenna's bedroom along with the built in bathroom. Across the hall was a recently cleared storage room. If you walked down the hall you would reach the kitchen and dining room. Though the only thing that preventing both rooms from being whole; is a wall and a door on either end of the wall. If you walked down stairs; the first thing you would see is the front door. Oh and If you're wondering how you can fit three beds in one room; well more like for beds because they sleep on bunk beds. That should about sum up most of the interior of the house).

(Back with Tetra)

Iris finally came out of our room wearing a baggy Silent Hill themed tee shirt, baggy cargo shorts, and knee high converse; you know like the low top 1980 sneakers but modernized and upgraded. after we finished breakfast we walked toward the end of their driveway where we would wait for are bus. Good thing it was the middle of spring.

"So Dakota what monster do you think you're getting assigned"? He turned to me "I don't know it's randomized". I looked toward Iris "Any idea on what one you're being assigned"?

(Third person point of view)

In truth nobody knows what monster they're about to be assigned; it's all set up at random so nobody can determine what monster they will heard a noise down the road and as usual it was the bus. They got on the bus and sat down in their usual spots. Tetra sitting next to Dakota and Iris behind them in the back of the bus. The bus rides were usually peaceful but today was different; Dakota noticed Tetra clutching her stomach quite a bit when they walked on the bus.

"Are you alright Tetra"? She nodded her head "I'm fine I just have a morning cramps is all." It was true she did have morning cramps sometimes but those usually went away in five to ten minutes. Still it made Dakota worried for Tetra.

They arrived at Montero High where they the students are trained on how to capture and tame monsters. All the students including Dakota, Tetra, and Iris got off the bus and went into the school.

"Are you sure you feel well enough to go on for the day" He asked her worriedly. By then Tetra's stomach ache had settled.

"I'm fine; it was just one of those quick flurries I have every once in a while". He just nodded as they both entered the gym.

The gym in Montero High isn't your typical High school gym when the school trains there students how to tame monster's. When you enter through the main doors of the gym you enter the schools indoor basketball court. On either side of the back of the gym you have the locker rooms for the athletes and students that have gym class. On the left is the boy's locker room and on the right is the girl's. All three basic places of any typical gym really; but what makes this gym different is the fact that it had dorms for the majority of the monsters. Granted that all of which were starter's; mildly hard to raise and train.

Now the reason most of them live in dorms is because there is more than one type of monster out there that are humanoid and at least somewhat civilized. Then there were the starter's that were either too big to fit in the dorms or caused hazards for both student's and monster's alike. They stayed in the barn. The barn lied fifty yards away near the school. The starter's that live in there actually have heating and water so they don't freeze during the winter.

When Dakota and Tetra entered the gym; they instantly knew that they weren't the only one's there. In fact everybody in first period was in the gym to receive their first monster.

"Seems like everybody was looking forward to getting a starter" Tetra remarked.

"Ya I bet; but they're not the only one's" Dakota said as he looked on wards at the students while walking to his spot next to Tetra's. They both sat down in their assigned spots on gym floor.

The bell finally rang and right on the dot Mr. Sloan came out of his office to greet the first period students like always. It didn't take long for all of the students in the gym to quiet down so Mr. Sloan can speak like he always does at the beginning of class.

"I know you're all excited and scared to receive your first monster so don't provoke them in any way." Mr. Sloan said as he paced back and forth near a table with a plastic bucket on it. "Now I have the keys to each and every dorm that every monster lives in." He said as he sat on the table and held his hand on the bucket. "I'm going to call each of you one at a time in a random order by last name. But before I do; I want you all to know that some of the monsters we have here living in these dorms were rescued off the streets or corrupt testing facilities. So be careful when approaching them" He said. "On another note I do believe that everybody here knows that this is all randomized right". Every student in the gym nodded their heads in understanding. "Alright I'm going to call names by random and you get up here I will give you a key to a random dorm holding the monster that resides in that room." Everybody nodded and stood silent while he called names.

(Dakota's point of view)

It was half an hour before my name was called by Mr. Sloan. I approached him and he handed me a key to the dorm with the monster I was assigned to. "How is your day Mr. Sloan?"

He smiled at me and nodded saying "Good."

When I turned around I noticed I was one of the last people to receive a key. I went back and sat back down next to Tetra. Mr. Sloan got up and walked towards me.

"Dakota I want you and Tetra to wait here while everybody else gets their monsters." He said while waving off the majority of the students to go get them. Both Tetra and I looked at each other in confusion.

"You wanted to see us Mr. Sloan" I asked confused on why he made us both stay behind? He nodded before saying

"The school board finally decided to allow elves; halfa's and etc. to partner up with anybody of their choice. On one condition that partner has to be human"

"So Tetra can choose who she wants as a partner" I asked just to be sure?

"Yes; and both your sister's don't even have to choose today; they can choose whenever they want. However the human has to also agree to be their partner" Mr. Sloan said. I looked at Tetra and smiled. "Since I told Tetra her reason for staying, I want to tell you yours." he stated. "See the key you're holding in your hand"?

I stared at the key I held in my hand and noticed it was glowing. "You see those weren't ordinary keys. In fact these keys that every freshman received and will receive today help you find your partner. Plus the keys can shape shift in to anything from a wrist watch to an earring. Those enchantments were put on them to basically make them more portable and for people that easily lose items all the time" he stated. All three of us turned towards the stairs to the sound of multiple footsteps of both student and monster approach the final steps leading to the gym from the dorms up stairs.

It didn't take long for every one including the new additions to the class and their tamer's. I looked around as everyone including their monsters sat down on the floor waiting for the three of us to finish speaking. Mr. Sloan motioned for the both of us to take our assigned seats on the floor.

Mr. Sloan then looked at all the students in first period then said, "Those of you who have found your first partner congrats; you managed to win over enough of their trust to join you. But that's not what led them to choose you. You see the keys you hold in your hand help the tamer find the best suitable partner so that both monster and tamer have more than one thing in common in order to get along better

"The keys are basically scanning everything in a certain radius. For anything that comes in range of the keys search radius will automatically be scanned for psychological similarities between the two, be it what they have in common now and or what they both experienced in their pasts either through happiness or tragedy" he finished.

I looked down and noticed that my key was no longer in my left hand _'Crap where'd my key go'_ I thought while looking beside and behind me. I noticed a faint glow coming from under the lower part of the back of my shirt. I pulled up my shirt a little bit and noticed that the object hanging from my one of my back belt loops is my key. It looked like a bracelet but the band that was used for it was made out of the teeth to a zipper but there were no sliders to unzip it, how strange.

"Not everybody got a partner this period as you can tell" Mr. Sloan said. I looked around and noticed I wasn't the only one not assigned a partner. "Not everybody gets there partner on the first day but don't worry, they will turn up eventually whoever they may be. Now for those of you who have a partner you have the next half hour to get to know them better. The rest of you can hang out with your friends and you never know maybe your partner could be one of your classmates" he stated. With that done he quietly let us go for the remainder of the time in gym.

I walked over toward the back wall of the gym and sat down. _'Who would want to partner up with me anyway?_ The only true friends I have are both my sister's, even though Iris is technically adopted she's still family.' while in mid thought I never noticed a certain someone sit beside me silently hoping I would accept her for who she partially is.


	2. Establishing Conections

Joker?

Chapter 2

Establishing Connections

(Iris's point of view)

5 minutes after school starts

She held the class rearrangement slip in her hand given to her by the school principal. She was extremely happy that she would be changing classes starting today. As she went back to English to go get her stuff she went over the list of classes she will be going to next period. 'Let's see what we have here: Gym, Math, English, Biology, and as an extension of gym, monster training; weird'. She approached the Biology room where her first class was held.

'You can do this Iris; you can get past that douche bag and his (friends). You can get passed the looks and the whistles they give you', she thought as she reached for the door knob.

Iris slowly turned the door knob so as to not alert anyone. To her annoyance it was locked but everyone was still inside. She had no choice but to knock on the door; alerting Mr. Brown to come to the door and open it for her.

'Here you go Mr. Brown', she thought as she handed him the note from the principal.

"Oh they finally put your request through and the principal agreed for your schedule change." he said as he glared at most of the guy's in the room.

In turn some of the guy's in the room cringed at the glare the teacher was giving them while the rest were awestruck at Iris's decision. As Iris walked toward her bag in the classroom she could immediately tell that the entire group of guy's in the room were giving her lustful looks.

'I hate it when they stare at me like that' Iris thought as she bent down to get her bag. 'I hope Mr. Brown give's these perverts hell' she thought as she headed toward the exit of the classroom.

"I emailed Mr. Sloan so when you get to his class he will know that you transferred along with the rest of your knew teachers; oh and here's the note back" he said as he handed the note back to Iris.

Iris left Mr. Brown's room for the last time hoping to never see Terrence or his (friends) again. But alas he would still go to this school and that she would not be able to avoid him before and after school. She never liked Terrence since the first day they met which was about two months ago before school started. Iris let a stray tear roll down her face as she remembered what Terrence almost did at the pier that day.

One month and two and a half weeks earlier:

Jenna or mom as Dakota and Tetra like to call her though she technically is their mother biologically. Jenna was the mother that Iris always wanted but never had until she was adopted into her family four years ago but that's another memory for later. Any way Jenna took them to Azure Lake to go swimming. While Tetra and Jenna set up the towels and the umbrella Dakota and Iris got the cooler and the food basket out of the car.

"Here you go Iris" he said as he handed the basket to her.

Iris just nodded and smiled in response and walked to where Jenna and Tetra were. Once she was there she gently placed the basket down next to Jenna who was busy staring at the horizon above the lake. Iris knew that Dakota was going to have trouble lifting the cooler since it was practically filled with liquid except for the bag of apples that sit floating in there. She noticed Dakota struggling to get the cooler out of the trunk and decided to go back and help him if needed.

"Yes, I finally got one end of the cooler over the edge of the trunk. Now to pull the rest of it out and bring it to mom and Tetra" he whispered more to himself than anyone else around him; not that there was anyone near him to hear.

The cooler was 2 ft wide and 1 ft tall so when filled it's pretty heavy. Dakota had both hands on opposite sides of the cooler's handle managed to lift it over the edge of the trunk and began to slowly carry it to Jenna. Iris walked up to Dakota and offered.

"Thanks for the help Iris", Dakota said as he happily accepted her offer of help.

With that Iris and Dakota brought the cooler to where Jenna was sitting in under three minutes. With that done both Dakota and Iris went to go swim with Tetra. When Iris and Dakota arrived they notice Tetra wearing a single peace black bathing suit with a pair of black swim trunks that extended a little past her knees over the bathing suit. Iris looked at Dakota and noticed that he was wearing a pair dark blue swim trunks that also extended a little bit further past his knees. Iris herself knew what she was wearing the entire time because she got ready before they left to go to the lake. She wore a pair of black swim trunks with the legs extending to the middle of her lower legs while also wearing a bikini top. All three of them swam and played games for a few hours before it was time to go eat lunch.

"Where's Dakota" Jenna asked as Tetra and Iris arrived back from swimming.

"He was just behind us a second ago. Where would he go in such a short amount of time?" Tetra asked in a worried tone.

Being an elf; Iris had more advanced hearing than Jenna and Tetra and began listening for Dakota's voice. If it was just Iris and her family there she would be able to find him in a heartbeat but there were more than a dozen people at the lake that day. It ultimately made it harder for her to single out his voice from everyone else that was there. She looked toward the east side of the beach, hoping Dakota would be at the food stands but no such luck; she didn't see or hear him there either.

"Tetra go to the parking lot and see if your brother went there; Iris go look for Dakota at the pier. That's where he usually is whenever we come here. I'll be here looking for him up and down the beach." Jenna said as she got up to look for him down the beach.

Tetra and Iris looked at each other and nodded in understanding what could be happening to him right now. Tetra ran to the parking lot while Iris ran to the pier. When Iris got there she could hear sniffling and sobbing from behind a group of teens Irises age maybe older. One of them turned around after hearing her approach.

"Why hello; what brings you here to my beach today?" asked the teen seductive tone approaching her smirking.

Iris got a good look at the teen approaching her. He looked to be seventeen maybe eighteen years old; a little over six and half feet tall, has a muscular build, black buzz cut hair, dark blue eyes (I do not know how to describe the shape of people's heads or their faces very well so bear with me on this). He was clad with black swim trunks with flames on the bottom of the legs.

'Wow this guy sounds like a douche …' Iris never got to finish that thought as she saw her little brother huddled over what looked like a little girl.

Dakota got up off the ground picking the girl in the process. As he turned to leave the pier Iris got a better look at the girl and gasped. The little girl looked like she had been beaten severely. Dakota wasted no time in rushing her to the life guards.

Iris just stood there shocked 'Who would do this to such a sweat little girl' she thought.

She then heard snickering behind her and turned around to face the now snickering teens. She had a very big guess on who did it. She then noticed all three teens had bruised knuckles.

"Serves that Joker right for trespassing on my beach." the blond teen stated.

Iris was pissed after hearing that statement. Not only did they beat a little girl but they beat up someone who were not able to defend themselves do to the older teens size. She swiftly and quietly ran up to the buffed teen and punched him in the gut making him keel over in pain. Then she spun around and did a round house kick to the same spot knocking him back into his cronies.

'Thanks mom for teaching me karate' Iris mentally thanked.

With that done Iris ran to where Dakota and the rest of the family were. By the time she got to Dakota the medics were already loading the unconscious Joker. Dakota looked up at Iris "You give them hell" he asked in a saddened tone.

Iris only nodded and hugged Dakota "You did the right thing" she whispered in his ear.

She could hear his heart beat increase while he hugged back; she also paid close attention to where he placed his hands on the center of her back.

Present time

Iris was knocked out of her memory of that day as she approached the gym doors.

'Well here goes nothing' she thought as entered the gym.

Iris was so nervous that she just barged right in to the gym avoiding any sort of eye contact and quickly walked to Mr. Sloan's office. Once she was there she slowly and silently opened the door to his office and entered. Iris didn't know how but when she turned back around after shutting the door Mr. Sloan was standing behind her.

"I got the email Mr. Brown sent me along with the principals. Oh I almost forgot you don't have to wear a gym uniform in my class" he stated before he exited the office along with Iris.

Mr. Sloan blew on his whistle to get the classes attention.

"If your wandering why Iris is here in this class period today is because she got her schedule changed" he stated be for he went back to sitting on the table watching all the students interact with their partners with a smile.

Iris just shyly waved to everyone one in the room right before being tackled to the ground in a big hug caused by Tetra. Iris was taken aback by her sudden behavior but quickly shrugged it off and returned the hug smiling. They stayed liked for a full minute until couple of the other students started to notice their little hug fest. Do to Iris's timid personality she panicked and quickly picked up Tetra off the ground and got up herself setting Tetra down on her feet. She was so flustered that she didn't notice that she sat down beside Dakota who at the time is listening to Orchestral Dubstep loud enough not to hear any of what Mr. Sloan said or see the scene that Tetra and Iris caused.

(Dakota's point of view)

'At least I have first class with mostly nice kids. Besides I still have the rest of the day to find my partner. And to be honest I really don't care what their species is I'd take any partner, which is of course that they accept me for who I am first. Who was that screaming from that nightmare I had last night? Why did it sound so familiar' Dakota thought.

"I'm surprised to not see Tara hear today because she usually won't stop messing with me or my stuff. But she's a lot nicer than Terrence. We even talk sometimes" he mumbled.

What Dakota didn't know was that Iris heard every word he said.

Iris was shocked at this 'Dakota has not one but two people to put up with here but he says Tara's not that bad. Why didn't you tell us?', she mentally screamed.

Dakota decided to go ask Mr. Sloan if he could walk around the halls for a bit since there was fifteen minutes left in class. He went to go ask but he felt a small tug on his arm. He then felt a gentle squeeze and immediately knew who it was. "Hey Iris when did you get here?" Dakota asked in confusion. She didn't say anything and handed him her new class schedule. "When did you request a schedule change?" Dakota asked. She didn't say anything and pulled out her phone, typed something on it and showed Dakota what it said 'Today' it read. "Oh" he then looked at the schedule to see what knew classes she had now. Dakota then noticed that she had same classes he had but he knew that there was more than one teacher on every subject. "Well congratulations on the reschedule." he said then he helped Iris up and made his way to Mr. Sloan.

"Can I walk around the halls for a bit Mr. Sloan?" Dakota asked.

"Sure; just make it back before the bell rings." Mr. Sloan stated.

With that done Dakota exited the gym to go for a walk. "Argh" he was just outside the strength training room when he heard the scream. He then heard what sounded like weights falling to the floor. "That sounded like Tara" Dakota thought as he rushed into the weight room. He was utterly shocked when he entered and looked around the room seeing a couple of overturned weight racks while Tara was sitting on one of the benches.

What surprised him more was the amount of scraps and bruises covering her body. "You okay Tara?" he asked as he approached her since he didn't know what else to ask her.

"Am I disgrace to this world?" she asked with a hint of fear as Dakota knelt down in front of her. "What do you mean?" he asked in a bit of worry.

"I've tried to make friends with almost everybody in the school. But most of them keep saying the same thing about me." she said while her eyes glazed over on the brink off shedding tears. Dakota had no idea what to think. 'Is it really that hard to make one friend' he thought.

Dakota new that she bullied him since the day they first met. He had bad days and worse days but most were not caused by Tara; not any more ever since Terrance moved here. It wasn't pretty what Dakota seen him do to her at the beach a month back. He was shocked at first when he found out that Tara was a Joker but he wasn't racist. He figured that out when Iris was adopted and made part of the family. At first they both hated each other but he wanted to do the right thing and help her. It took a while but they eventually figured if they got to know each other better than they could get along, which they did. They were rarely seen apart except for classes. Tetra, Dakota, and Iris are always there for each other and other's if necessary.

"I guess they're right about one thing; I really am an abomination." she said while letting the tears flow; finally letting the dam she had carefully built over the years crumble to the ground and its contents finally escaping. He then did the last thing Tara expected from someone she messed with for most of his life. Dakota knelt down and embraced her in a hug.

"You are not an abomination you're just misunderstood" Dakota stated.

"Why would you care; no one ever did and never will" she said back. Dakota just kept hugging her to comfort the lonely Joker.

"That's the thing I truly and genuinely care about you and I'm not alone; every teacher care not only about you but everyone. I'm here for you…my family is here for you…my mom, Tetra, and even Iris" he said. He then felt Tara shudder in his arms.

"I…hurt…please…don't let the…nightmares come back" was the last thing she said in fear before she passed out from exhaustion.

Since Dakota was still trying his best to comfort Tara with a hug he had caught her before she could fall to the ground in a crumbled heap. Dakota never was one to lie to just about anyone and since this predicament was serious he was by all means honest in what he meant. He cared for every one; no matter what they looked like, who they were, or what their personalities were like; he cared.

"I care" he whispered. He then placed Tara in a sleeping position on the bench and made sure no one was in the room. Dakota felt a pressure emerge from within his body and his right hand glowed brightly in which he placed it above Tara's sleeping form letting the light drift slowly towards Tara healing the bruises that littered her body.

Tara on the other hand wasn't entirely asleep; yes she was very tired and desperately wanted to go to sleep but she really wanted to know if Dakota really did care even after what she put him through. Soon she felt a weird sensation all over her body like she was being healed. She never knew what being healed felt like; for all she knew Dakota was just blowing hot air all over her; but Dakota was too caring to do that to her. She winced a little as the little amount of pain that whatever he was doing caused but kept quiet and lay still so Dakota couldn't tell that she was fully awake now. She then felt all the pain on her body slowly disappear.

Dakota watched as her bruises and cuts slowly disappeared. "There that's better" he whispered. Since all the bruises and cuts were gone he had a much clearer picture of what Tara looked like. She had blood red hair that reached her neck and had bangs that covered her left eye, literally has white skin, her eyes are crimson, and under them appeared to be make-up of upside down small black triangles that did not extend past the width of her eyes. Jokers were actually born with some form of markings on the faces. Most also had a nasty habit of pulling pranks on people that later on would enjoy and have laughs about them. That's just recently though in the past they were known to do pranks that harmed people and specialized in harming people.

Dakota also noticed that he couldn't tell what height she stood at. He then noticed the clothes she was wearing. She had on a what looked like a warned out grey sweat shirt, faded blue jeans that had multiple hole's in them and the legs reached a little above her warn out white tennis shoes. He then remembered that jokers can manipulate their bodies to their liking. But Tara chose to stay four maybe four and a half feet tall.

Dakota then knelt down to pick up Tara bridal style and proceeded to carry her back to the gym. Unknown to him and a sleeping Tara someone saw the whole ordeal and smirked, "I found my next target" she whispered as she continued her plan to humiliate them and anybody that stood in her way.


End file.
